It has been known for several years that the three contributing factors to venous thrombosis are stasis (slow blood flow), changes in blood composition, and changes in vessel wall. These three contributing factors are known as Virchow's triad.
Venous insufficiency is a complex disease that involves thrombosis (blood clot abnormalities and/or endothelial dysfunction), venous hypertension, reverse flow (reflux), and venous remodeling, amongst others. The two major contributors to venous insufficiency are venous occlusion and valve incompetence (reflux).
Blood stasis promotes a thrombogenic response through various biochemical activators. Attempts have been made to create percutaneous venous valve stent systems to replace a prolapsed or otherwise dysfunctional venous valve, but no attempt has previously been proven successful. In order for such a system to work, one of the contributing factors to venous blood thrombosis, namely stasis, must be overcome in order for the valve to remain patent and to avoid thrombosis/clotting
A valve device or system, operable to replace a prolapsed or otherwise dysfunctional venous valve that effectively operates and overcomes the stasis contributing factor, would be well-received in the marketplace. In addition, a device useful to assist blood flow through a blood vessel, methods of using the same, and methods for predicting a potential success for an individual patient in connection with a potential valve treatment procedure, would also be well-received in the marketplace.